Kung Pow Chicken
by Troublesome Dragon
Summary: After a crazy day, chicken is an excellent conversation starter.


Kung Pow Chicken

"Oh, your going to propose?" Judai murmured disinterestedly. This wasn't the first time that the pro duelist, dubbed the rejuvenating phoenix by the fans, had tried to gain the affections of a certain

teacher.

Propped on the café chair, his dark eyes swarmed with satisfaction, and the previous serious demeanor vanished as he reveled in laughter. Barely reacting, the dusty figure waited for his boisterous

friend to elaborate, blowing steadily on the coffee. Admittedly, Judai normally didn't partake in this sort of brew, but Manjoume insisted Blue Eyes Mountain worth the steep price. Despite avid protests,

he drank the non refundable coffee that his friend so generously paid for. The dark clad man must have too much money on his hands to spend so much on coffee. Damn, he seemed less eccentric now

that he gave it a try. _This is so addicting_. Yubel snickered as the young man slurped down the elixir and ordered another cup.

_**Pay attention or I'll insist we make rounds again. **_Yubel pressed good-naturedly and proceeded to scold him. _**You insisted on making time for your friend today. **_

"Are you even listening?" Eyes fluttered open, and he realized that he must have zoned out completely.

"Hmmm" He mumbled, still half conscious, although he snatched the coffee cup from the waitress quickly enough. Manjoume scowled slightly but regained the airy aura that he had maintained the entire

meeting. Apparently, his flighty responses would not deter him today.

"She said yes." Startled, the cup splattered onto the temperamental man who howled. The sound grated Judai's ears.

"Sorry, are you sure?" The woman's reputation proceeded her.

"Look, I'll tell you all about it after you get me something to clean this up." He waved him away, smiling, despite the pain caused by the burning sensation. _Happiest man on earth_, Judai thought

nonchalantly as the tiny bell rung on his arrival inside.

Even as he went inside and asked the waitress for some ice and a few napkins, he wondered. _Where am I going to sleep?_ That wasn't a horrible thought to have after severely burning his friend with

expensive coffee right? A small tingling sensation tickled his brain which presented itself when Yubel was in a particularly good humor. Yubel appeared floating beside him and took note of his sluggish

pace. Multicolored eyes choose to broach the subject.

_**Your other friends have couches you can sleep on too. **_She reasoned as she traveled into the far reaches of his brain although she masked her intentions from him as to why.

_**If you ask nicely, I'm sure she'd let you have her old one. Manjoume can certainly provide one, considering, he just paid a lot of Yen to have coffee spilled on him. **_Laughter echoed after

that, more pleased by his friends pain than Judai would normally be comfortable with, but he joined her in her mirth anyway.

_I don't know why I didn't just catch it with my hands or even my powers. The caffeine must have messed with my reflexes. _The dragon crossed into her usual place in his mind, done with whatever business

she had further in his consciousness.

_**Of course, **_she replied flatly radiating smugness.

"About time, no more, you can't handle the coffee." Judai simply nodded and waited, some part of him remembered a time when he would have leapt up with a million questions. The gaunt man's chair

tilted forward and snapped down with finality. With a wry grin, he leaned forward, propped his chin on his hands, and spoke.

"I was getting tired of trying you know. A person can only take so much rejection. Funniest thing, I decided that I would try one more time on the phone. No formalities or frivolities, she must have liked

that because I definitely heard a yes. " He finished, and the red jacketed form slumped into the chair and nodded again mind somewhere else as the tale confirmed what he already knew about the

woman.

"Thank you for the coffee, Manjoume. I need to go see someone." As he stood, his foot jammed into the other's chair hard, and comically, Thunder tumbled forward and smashed into the small table.

Distracted as he was, he helped the grouch up who pushed him away and rambled he should get going before a plane fell on him. The herald laughed awkwardly, and Manjoume cursed him when he

glanced uncertainly at the sky, just in case.

"I'm sure it was an accident Judai. Cake?" Johan offered rolling his eyes at his friend's paranoia.

Judai accepted the offering leaning back on the sofa and asked off handedly.

"Would you mind if I replaced your couch and slept here half the time?" It's not like he didn't have the money to get his own place, but he traveled enough that it was a frivolous expense. Often, he

slept in hotels, but sometimes, it was nice to sleep somewhere familiar. Generally, he spent a lot of time at Asuka's place who thankfully never woke when he crept inside the apartment at odd hours.

He really couldn't remember when the habit started only that already he felt uncomfortable sleeping in a married couple's place. They would be seeking privacy.

"It's Rei and Marcel all over again. I miss baguettes in the morning." He reminisced, and his fellow duelist raised an eyebrow.

"First get permission to take the couch." Familiar with which couch he meant, the brunette often whined how much more comfortable it was when he slept on his stiff couch, meant more as decor than

anything. Johan traveled regularly, especially after Sho cornered him and convinced him to join the league. The herald's previous comment did not escape his notice, but he was not about to play

therapist. However, he might as well enlightened him on some of what Asuka did past reading and lesson plans.

"I can't say I'm surprised." The crystal keeper rose, and Ruby contentedly followed and abandoned her attempts to cheer the rogue. The crackling of oil filled the air as habitually he began to cook more

sweets, deep fried to batter his heart with lard. When Judai needed something, the deciding factor would boil down to if he needed sustenance or if he needed someone who did not faint at the sight

of blood. What circumstances occurred so that Asuka took the second role, he couldn't be certain. The young man rubbed his head remembering when he learned his own reaction to blood.

"Why?" The traveler already trying to force the stiff couch to be more malleable.

"Don't change the composition of my couch, Judai." He scolded the other's tendency to transfigure objects. His poor lampshade still hadn't recovered and could only light the room dimly.

"And to answer your question, we went on a date once. She is approachable, granted her brother arranged it." He darted upright, surprised. Johan wondered how she managed to keep him at arms

length about her life when he spent a fair share of his time there. Tears cascading into the water filtered through his memory and how they all stood quietly and watched. She let thoughts of further

familiarity go a long time ago he supposed.

Ambling over to him, casually, he loomed over the oil. Johan thought nothing of it as his friend reached over for a snack. As he leaned over the stove to take the promised sweets, he knocked over the

pan, and hot oil almost hit the pro duelist who leapt back in time. The pan clattered and the other took no notice chewing on the treat. Alarmed how close the oil had come to contacting his skin and

Judai's lack of response, he considered why the vagabond did not have the sense to walk over to the other side where the candies were easily accessible. As Judai picked up the pan, he bit his lip.

Disheartened, he felt like a broken record as he muttered.

"I'm sorry. Did you get any burns?" Johan shook his head, and his guest eyed the door.

"I think I'm going to see her. Ask about the couch you know." He excused himself, but his head strong companion thought it best to keep an eye on him for now.

"Let me join you. I haven't seen her in a while." His reason was flimsy at best as the group of old classmates were tight knit and her birthday hadn't been all that long ago. Almost immediately after he

requested coming, engrossed in cleaning the oil spill Judai crashed into him hard. Johan felt dismayed when the herald barely registered the blow that took the breath out of him. Slowly the accidents

were piling up past Johan's comfort level. Ruby trilled into his ear, and he murmured his agreement.

"Sorry," He whispered distantly. He tossed the rag in the sink and faced the out of breath man.

"Ready to go?" He nodded, and the familiar pull of the shadows engulfed them. With the way his companion acted lately, he gripped tightly onto his hand lest it somehow lost hold. Seconds later,

gravity pushed down on him once again and he sighed in relief. Eager, Judai knocked on the door in a manner that suggested the complicated series of sounds alerted their female acquaintance that he

was no ordinary visitor. This appeared to work as the door flew open instantly.

"Johan?" She mouthed and furrowed her brows in confusion as the person who knocked stepped out of her field of vision momentarily. By the stairs, dressed for much colder weather, the concerned

mediator waited for Judai to go inside so he could lie low and intervene as necessary. The notion that he might do something brash concerned him in his current state. After a moment of stillness all

around, the teleporter cruised over to him concerned that he would not move. Hands that normally would guide the dizzy associate to safety carelessly pushed him back. Eyes widened, aware of his

mistake, as Johan fell backward. The weary friend's reflexes allowed him to grab the rail and pull himself forward. Panicked, Judai scrambled to help him, and it stung when he pushed him away.

"Asuka close the door we'll be there shortly." Composed again, Johan replied in his usual cheerful manner, previous tension gone. Uncertainly, her attention lingered on the two and took a moment to

analyze what she witnessed before she respectfully shut the door behind her.

"Johan, I . . . " Regretfully, the concerned party shook his head, effectively making the other trail off.

"Stop pretending, Ruby told me your energy's levels spiked. Now, go talk to her before someone's hand gets chopped off." Taken back, the other expression blanched. Not bothering to elaborate, he

pushed past him. Inside Manjoume lay on the couch contentedly, glad his sponsors private jet could be of use to get him there. Patient, Johan decided to ignore the growl in back of him, probably just

imagined it. Frankly, the young man nerves at the moment resembled his reaction the following weeks after dark world.

Asuka walked briskly to meet them and placed several colorful posters down on the table intended for her presentation to her young class. She ushered them inside, and Johan managed to place

himself between the two on the infamous couch. On his way, Judai managed to snatch one of the large posters and examined it closely. He smirked when he noted that one of the visuals on the hand

crafted board was winged kuriboh. He traced the lines lightly, and Asuka gently confiscated the stolen poster muttering about effect monsters.

"I wasn't expecting you two. Something wrong?" Tiredly, the herald connected that he usually didn't convene with them all unless there was an emergency.

"No, I need to talk to you." Absentmindedly, she responded as she cut out more construction paper figures, this time, one that resembled Ruby if only because of her family member's presence.

"Go ahead, Judai. If you brought Johan, it must not be something that Manjoume can't hear." Reluctantly, he settled deeper into the couch in an attempt to calm his nerves. Johan recognized the signs

that he spoke with his guardian as he remained perfectly still and his mouth moved the slightest bit .

"You're getting married to Manjoume." Asuka winced as she cut her finger missing the paper entirely. Judai mused that the blood wasn't particularly noticeable on the red paper. Furiously, she shook

her head even as she headed to the first aid kit.

"Where did you get that idea?" Manjoume, frantically, squirmed out of the embrace of the couch, gasping.

"You said yes." He sputtered out distraught waving his arms for emphasis.

Any further denials stopped and she gazed off into space. With a bit of a chuckle, she proceeded to defend herself.

"I've been preoccupied lately. Both you and my brother were on the line. I'd thought you hung up already." Downcast, Manjoume realized how long it took him to spit out the question when the added

pressure of trying one last time sank in.

"He's planning to visit soon, and he always leaves a million calls before hand. He asked if I minded if he brought a friend." She made quotation marks around friend and humped.

"Oh shoot, I think I hung up on him. I should call in case he . . . " She stammered. Too late, her brother waltzed inside in a huff.

"Hang up on me will you? I came over as soon as I heard." Eyes shut, she stepped back.

"I may have called him." The glum duelist admitted sheepishly.

"No, it's not what you think." Already, she pictured weeks of her brother's insistent comments on the matter. Doomed to an eternity of why don't you believe in love speeches, Asuka wasted no energy

and already stopped trying to speak instead responding yes or no to what her brother asked. To Johan's satisfaction, Judai bolted upward ready to intervene, in a considerably better disposition.

"She accidentally said that to Manjoume thinking she was talking to you about bringing your friend over, put the wedding planner away." Judai finished firmly, and the performer shrugged stuffing the

planner into his satchel. A sliver of disappointment in his eyes, although it didn't compare to the reeling figure next to Johan who patted him sympathetically. The self-proclaimed love expert went over

to console his student. Mortified, Asuka slipped away thankful for an easy exit. Glancing at the retreating figure, he stepped into the kitchen.

_Food_, Judai decided was the best strategy to placate his friend. He grabbed the take out menu sitting on the counter and instantly settled for something simple.

She huddled on a small corner of her bed half listening to the commotion outside. Falling back on old patterns, she dwelled on how she has not hid from her brother like this since their youth. She

cringed internally at the wailing in the living room, not looking forward to the weeks the pro duelist would spend sulking before bouncing back as he always did.

The downtrodden woman did not expect the smell of kung pow chicken of all things to invade her senses. Easily, the red clad figure sunk beside her and handed her the box. Taking it She picked up the

chop sticks popping a piece into her mouth.

"They don't understand sometimes that your fine on your own." She nodded, glad at least one person knew that.

"My brother is always trying to strike a match. I wish I had a decoy to stop the insanity." Delicately taking the chopsticks, he devoured a morsel of chicken. Asuka curved her fingers around the chop

sticks sliding them out of Judai's grip and picked up another piece.

"Rei does the same thing sometimes. She still remembers me being the only student in the red dorm my final year." The blonde frowned, not thrilled by his isolation that year either.

"I don't think she gets that I couldn't be alone if I tried." He quipped. Seizing the opportunity, she aimed her chopsticks and dropped a piece of chicken into his open mouth. Pleasantly surprised, he

chewed happily. With a side way glance, she suggested playfully.

"If they can't stand us being alone, we'll be alone together?" Grinning, he nodded grabbing the chop sticks to return the favor.

**I've seen so many attempts at proposals. This is my version, hopefully the idea gets through. Feed back loved. Otherwise, I might as well be shooting in the dark. **


End file.
